Every rule, written out.

Beta testers & feedback

How do I find beta testers for my app?

Submit your app, website or SaaS on Makers Wall and other makers sign up to test it. Beta testers here build things too, so they know what to look for: they go through your product, write down what broke and send you a report. Reports on your project arrive locked: testing someone else's project earns the credits to read them, so everyone gives as much as they get.

How can I get honest feedback on my side project?

Friends are too nice, subreddits rarely answer and AI tends to agree with you. On Makers Wall, side project feedback comes from makers who are rated on how useful their report was, so they have every reason to be specific and honest rather than polite.

How do I get my first reviews for my SaaS or startup?

Every finished test ends with a rating and a written review on your public project page. Once a few makers have tested your product, you have honest reviews and a line like “tested by 6 makers, rated 4.8” you can put on your own landing page.

Is Makers Wall a Product Hunt alternative?

For feedback, yes. Product Hunt is built for launch-day visibility: upvotes and comments, rarely a real test. Makers Wall is built for the part before and after launch, when you need people to actually use your app and tell you what's wrong. Many makers will want both: test here first, then launch with fewer bugs.

Is it really free?

Yes. Submitting a project and getting feedback on your app is free for everyone, with no credit card. Instead of paying, you test other makers' projects: each test earns the credits that unlock the reports on yours.

Can it help with Google Play's 12-tester requirement?

New personal Google Play developer accounts need a closed test with at least 12 testers opted in for 14 days before publishing. On Makers Wall you add your public Google Group and your closed track's opt-in link to your project: makers who claim it join the group, opt in and install on their own, then write a report. You start with 3 testers per round and earn up to 8, and testers from earlier rounds stay opted in, so it adds up toward the 12.

The basics

What is Makers Wall?

A free community where solo founders and small teams test each other’s products. You submit a project to get it tested, and you test other people’s projects in return. Submitting is always free and your project goes on the wall right away. Reports on it arrive locked: each test you give earns the credits to unlock them.

Am I a maker or a tester?

Both. Everyone here wears both hats. A maker is whoever submitted a given project; a tester is whoever claimed it. The navigation is organised by what you’re looking at (projects, tests, messages), not by role.

What does it cost?

Nothing! It’s 100% free. You only get what you give. Help others, get help back.

Submitting a project

What do I need to submit?

A URL (or a private access link), the platforms it runs on, a one-line tagline, and a short brief on what to test. We read the page’s title, description and image to prefill what we can. Start at Submit a project.

What's the difference between the public and the private brief?

The public brief is on the listing for everyone: scope, focus, known issues. The private brief is only revealed to a tester once they claim the test: credentials, install steps, APK links. Never put credentials in the public brief.

How do testers get my TestFlight or Google Play testing build?

When you tick TestFlight or Google Play testing on your project, you choose how testers get in. With links (recommended), you add your TestFlight public link, or for Google Play the join link of a public Google Group used as your closed track’s tester list plus the track’s opt-in link. Testers see them only once they’ve claimed, and install on their own. With email invites, testers need their Apple ID or Google account email on their profile to claim; it shows on your Testers tab, you add them in App Store Connect or Play Console, then tick them off so they get notified.

How many testers can I ask for?

Everyone starts with up to 3. Every 2 tests you complete that the maker rates 3★ or more unlock one more, up to 7. Past that, you can buy one extra tester for a round with 10 credits, up to 8. Once every slot is taken, the listing shows as full and stops taking claims; once every tester has reported, it shows Tested and you can start a new round. You can also raise the target within your allowance.

What is the completion window?

How long each tester gets, from the moment they claim (not from when you publish). Anyone can pick 3 to 7 days. Shorter windows ask a lot of whoever claims, so they’re earned as a tester: 2 days with a 4.0★ tester score over 5 rated tests, 1 day with 4.5★ over 10.

Can I pause or close a project, or start a new round?

Pause hides it from browse without touching running tests. Close ends the listing (from the project’s Settings tab; a project nobody has tested yet can be deleted there instead). Tests already in progress keep going unless you choose to cancel the ones not yet submitted (no penalty for those testers). From a closed project, or one every tester has reported on, Start round 2 puts it back on the wall, and people who already tested it can test again.

Testing someone's project

How do I find something to test?

The wall shows every project on Makers Wall, the ones open for testing first. Once you’re signed in, Browse lists only the ones you can claim, with a suggestion at the top, and filters by platform, the kind of feedback the maker wants, or window length. You can test any open project, not only the first.

Why is a card locked?

The project runs on a platform you haven’t declared a device for (an iOS app needs an iPhone or iPad tester, for example). Websites need nothing. Declare your devices when you claim, or in Settings → Devices.

What happens when I claim?

The clock starts, the private brief unlocks, a chat with the maker opens and a report draft is created for you. You can hold at most 3 tests at a time, pending requests included.

Can I withdraw?

Yes, from the ⋯ menu on the test. Within 24 hours of claiming it’s free. After that it counts as a no-show. You can’t reclaim the same project in the same round.

What if I miss the deadline?

The test expires: no credits, and a no-show on your record. You get a reminder halfway through the window and one a day before it closes.

Reports and findings

What goes in a report?

A summary (overall impression, what you covered, what you didn’t) and a list of findings. Each finding has a type (bug, UX, suggestion, question, discussion), a severity (blocker, major, minor, nit), a title, where it happened, details in markdown and optional screenshots. You can also note how long you spent.

Can I save as I go?

Yes. The report is a draft you edit over the whole window; it autosaves. Submit only when you think it’s complete. Submitting stops your clock.

What makes a report useful?

Steps to reproduce, expected versus actual, and things the maker can act on tomorrow. “Nice app!” earns a low rating. However, reporting real issues with clear steps earn a high one.

Reviewing a report (makers)

What do I do when a report comes in?

Read it in the test’s Report tab, then either accept & rate it, or request changes once with a message. You have 5 days.

What if I don't respond?

Silence never blocks the tester: their credits arrive when they submit, not when you accept. After 5 days without a response the report is auto-accepted. You can still rate them afterwards.

How does 'request changes' work?

Once per test. The tester gets 3 days to update the report and resubmit, which gives you a fresh 5-day review period. If they don’t resubmit in time, the report is accepted as it was.

Ratings

Who rates whom?

Both ways, as two separate scores. The maker rates the tester on how useful the test was: that’s the tester score, the platform’s central currency. The tester rates the maker on how they were to work with: that’s the maker score, shown on their listings so future testers know what to expect.

When are ratings revealed?

Ratings are double-blind: you can’t see theirs until you’ve given yours. Both are revealed once both sides have rated, or when the 14-day rating window closes.

What are the tags for?

Structured, actionable feedback next to the stars: “clear repro steps”, “too shallow”, “instructions unclear”, “responsive”, and so on. Pick up to four.

Credits and the wall

One rule keeps the loop fair: to read feedback on your project, you give some first. Nothing here decides whether your project can be tested, only when you get to read the reports.

How do credits work?

Testing someone’s project earns you 20 credits when you submit your report. Reading a full report on your own project costs 20. Everyone starts at 0, with no welcome credit, so every maker tests at least one project before reading anything. Your balance is in the header, next to your profile picture: look for the blue coin, which marks every amount you earn or spend.

Why is my report locked?

Every report arrives locked. You already see how many issues the tester found, how long they spent and the first sentences of their report. Test one project, spend the 20 credits it earns you, and the whole report opens. The tester is notified when you read it.

Why did my project stop getting new testers?

While a report is waiting for you to unlock it, your project takes no new testers. Testers already working on it still finish, and their reports arrive locked too. Unlock what’s waiting and the project is open again. This keeps testers from writing reports nobody reads.

My project is tested. How do I get it tested again?

Once every tester has reported, your project shows Tested and takes no new claims. Fix what came up, ship the new version, then click Start round 2 on the project page. It goes back on the wall for a fresh set of testers, last round’s included if they want to come back, as normal tests. Add a short “what changed”: the new testers see it in the brief.

Is there a limit on credits?

You can hold up to 200. Tests you give while at 200 earn nothing, but they still count toward the “projects tested” number on your profile. Credits don’t expire, so there’s no rush to spend them.

What else can I spend credits on?

A boost, for 60 credits, puts your project first in the wall’s Open section for 3 weeks; buying it again adds 3 more weeks. Boosted projects also take turns in the dashboard sidebar. An extra tester, for 10 credits, adds one tester above what your ratings unlocked, for one round.

What is the first-tester bonus?

A full test claimed before anyone has sent a report on the project this round earns 20 more credits, so 40 in all. Everyone who claims before that first report gets it, so there’s no need to rush. Cards show “First testers earn +20 credits” while it’s on: those projects are tagged Recommended and come right after boosted ones in the Open section. Projects in “Maker yet to test” don’t have it.

What is a bounty?

A maker can pay extra for each test on their project: from 10 to 50 credits per tester, for as many testers as they still want this round. It’s paid upfront and not refunded. Each tester who claims holds one share, paid when they submit; if they drop out it goes back to the next tester. A bounty makes a project more attractive, not higher on the wall.

Why does my project say “Maker yet to test”?

Because you haven’t tested anyone’s project yet. Submitting is free, but until you send your first test report, your project sits at the bottom of the wall and is never suggested. One full test moves every project of yours up, for good. Pick a project with no tester yet and that test earns 40 credits.

In which order does the wall show projects?

The same order for everyone. Projects open for testing come first, in two groups: Open (boosted projects first, shuffled every hour, then recommended ones with no report yet this round, where first testers earn 20 more, then the rest) and Maker yet to test (one test from its maker moves it up). Within each group, the fewest testers this round come first, then the longest wait. A project nobody has claimed in 10 days moves to the end of its group; editing the brief, a boost or a bounty brings it back. Every other project follows under Not taking testers (paused until its maker reads a report, full, tested, your own), most recently active first, so the wall always shows the whole community.

What is “Suggested for you”?

One project on your home page (under “Test next”) and on Find projects, picked in this order: the project of someone who tested yours, then the top of the wall. Projects you can’t claim on your devices are never suggested.

What is the “Earn more” card?

Next to “Test next” on your home page: the project you can claim that pays the most right now, its base 20 plus the first-tester bonus and any bounty. It only shows when a project pays more than the usual 20.

Does the language I speak matter?

Not for matching. It’s on your profile for others to see, but it isn’t a filter or a ranking signal, so nobody gains anything by claiming languages they don’t speak. It might become an excluding criteria in the future.

Do the feedback tags on a listing affect matching?

No. “Bug hunting”, “UI/UX” and the others are informational, to help testers pick what they enjoy. Skill signals will eventually be earned from rated history, not declared.

What do no-shows cost?

Each expiry or late withdrawal is recorded and earns no credits. Repeated no-shows reset the number of testers you can ask for to 3: only tests you complete after your last no-show count toward raising it again. Withdraw early if you can’t finish a test; within 24 hours it’s free.

Chat, timeline and notifications

How does the chat work?

Each test has its own 1:1 conversation between the maker and the tester, opened at claim. Freeform messages with image attachments, plus system messages marking every milestone (claimed, submitted, accepted…). It becomes read-only when the test closes and is kept indefinitely for reference.

Where do I see everything at once?

Inbox lists every conversation across both hats. Notifications lists every event. Email preferences are in Settings → Notifications.

Something is wrong with a test. What do I do?

Use Report a problem in the ⋯ menu of the test. A human reads every report.

Profiles and privacy

What is public on my profile?

Your name, handle, picture, occupation, location, links, badges, both scores and the names of projects you recently tested. Never the content of your reports or chats, and never your email.

Is my project page public?

Yes. Every published project has a public page at /p/your-slug with the description and the public brief, and shows on the wall, in browse and on your profile. Once a test is accepted, it also gives your site a followed link. The private brief is never on it.

What does profile completeness do?

A fuller profile (picture, occupation, bio, links, devices) makes makers more comfortable handing over credentials.